A recent study from Johns Hopkins University suggests that a popular cholesterol-lowering drug, rosuvastatin, may increase the risk of kidney problems, especially at higher doses. This finding could change how doctors prescribe the medication.
Millions of people take statins to lower their cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease. Rosuvastatin is one of the most commonly prescribed statins because it is effective and widely available. However, researchers have found that it may not be as safe for the kidneys as once thought.
When the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) first approved rosuvastatin, there were already signs that it might cause kidney issues. Some patients who took the drug developed blood in their urine (hematuria) or protein in their urine (proteinuria).
These can be warning signs of kidney damage. Despite these concerns, little follow-up research was done to understand how serious the risks were for people taking the drug over time.
To investigate this further, researchers analyzed electronic health records from 2011 to 2019. They compared rosuvastatin with another common statin, atorvastatin, by looking at data from over 150,000 people who started using rosuvastatin and nearly 800,000 who started atorvastatin.
After tracking these patients for three years, they found that 2.9% of rosuvastatin users developed blood in their urine, and 1.0% developed protein in their urine.
When compared to atorvastatin, rosuvastatin increased the risk of blood in the urine by 8%, protein in the urine by 17%, and severe kidney failure by 15%. The risk was even higher for people taking larger doses of rosuvastatin.
One of the most concerning findings was that many people with serious kidney disease were given higher doses of rosuvastatin than the FDA recommends for patients with poor kidney function. In fact, 44% of patients with advanced kidney disease were prescribed doses that could be too strong for them.
Despite these risks, the study found that both rosuvastatin and atorvastatin worked equally well in protecting heart health. This raises an important question: If atorvastatin provides the same heart benefits without the added kidney risks, should doctors be more cautious when prescribing rosuvastatin, especially in high doses?
This study, published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, suggests that doctors and patients should carefully weigh the risks and benefits of rosuvastatin. It highlights the need for more caution when prescribing the drug, especially for people with kidney problems.
The findings also show why it’s important to continue monitoring drugs after they are approved. Many side effects only become clear after years of real-world use. By studying how medications affect large groups of people over time, doctors can adjust their recommendations to keep patients safer and healthier.
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